LIV Golf guys and bunkers just don’t get along. In 2019, former Fireball Sergio Garcia went viral for an all-time bunker tantrum at the Saudi International. Garcia was eventually disqualified from the event for damaging a series of greens as his temper spiralled out of control, but it was the brief clip of him hacking away at the bunker that stood the test of time.
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Overnight at Carnoustie, it was Tyrrell Hatton’s turn. During his first round at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Hatton’s ball plugged in a greenside bunker on the par-3 eighth hole. As his ensuing shot went screaming past the flagstick and off the green, the Englishman directed his fury at the bunker, unleashing a serious of violent overhead chops reminiscent of a slasher-movie villain chasing a bunch of promiscuous high schoolers. What a way to ring in spooky season, Tyrrell!
“That’s an interesting bit of digging,” the broadcast quipped as camera slowly panned off Hatton, still chopping away. Where Garcia’s Arabian meltdown felt petulant and immature, this seemed downright homicidal.
Of course, that’s not exactly a surprise. Hatton has bumped up against the limits of golf decorum on many occasions over the years. In fact, you might even say it’s what he’s best known for. We’ve seen Hatton turn his putter into a make-believe gun to blast courses that have wronged him. He once flipped off the entire Scottish Open, screamed the C-word into a live microphone and even bashed Augusta National. Along the way, there have been plenty of snapped clubs and smashed tee markers. At the 2024 US Open, Hatton told reporters that his career fine tally is considerably less than you might expect, but after this latest lowlight, something tells us it may grow a bit by week’s end.
